Surprise! This Cruise Is Actually On A Luxury Yacht, And It's Everything Anti-Cruisers Could Hope For

The Wind Star’s back deck with the island of Santorini in the background. (Credit: Windstar Cruises)

Cruises. They can be the worst. Kids everywhere. Thousands of other people. Lines for dinner. No, thank you.

But this isn’t that. This is elegant. This is personal. This is a yacht. (And yes, I did just say that with jazz hands.)

Yes, a yacht. A beautiful 73 stateroom-filled yacht fit for a mere 148 guests. And sails. Beautiful, fully functioning sails. Plainly put, this is the anti-cruisers cruise. This is the cream of the crop. This is the crème de la crème. This is the…you get the idea. This is a Windstar sailing.

You guessed it, I’m a fan. And those are strong words for a notorious anti-cruiser like myself to say. But that’s because nothing about a Windstar sailing is typical. You won’t experience lines of other cruise-goers all fighting to get on board, screaming children (in fact, they are “discouraged from joining a Windstar cruise”) or the need to fight your way in to book that one excursion that’s the hot one to be on that day. No, this is totally different. And frankly, this is the only way to cruise. (Have I stressed that enough yet?)

Expect no more than 148 guests on board, yourself included, and almost 100 staff members. Yes, that’s a very impressive guest-to-crew ratio. And what that means is, there’s always someone there to take care of whatever need you might have – big or small. Ordinary or over-the-top. Cocktail or otherwise.

The Wind Star ship of the Windstar Cruises fleet (the smallest with its sister, the Wind Surf – the other ships of the fleet are slightly larger hosting up to 310 guests at most) goes to all of those bucket list-worthy destinations that you’ve been meaning to get to, you just haven’t found that perfect chance yet. So trust me when I say, this might just be it. Greece and its swoon-worthy islands, the Amalfi Coast, the South of Spain including Ibiza and the perfectly blue waters of Tahiti, those are just the beginning of your options.

Currently, the Wind Star ship is on its Athens to Athens Yachting the Greek Isles route until the tourist season in Greece officially comes to a close later this month. The ship will soon move on to sail from Athens to Rome on its Enchanting Greece and the Amalfi Coast tour, Rome to Barcelona on its Islands of the West Med tour, Barcelona to Lisbon on its Treasures of Southern Spain and Morocco tour and will then head to the Caribbean and eventually Tahiti.

Beyond a list of routes that has even the most well-traveled of us intrigued, the real selling point of a Wind Star sailing just might be that the ship is smaller than the average cruise liner, so it can go to smaller ports, something that really opens up the opportunities for more unique port calls. On the Yachting the Greek Isles sailing for example, in addition to “the hits” (I’m looking at you, Mykonos and Santorini), expect to experience cities and islands that most travelers won’t make it to on their first trip to this incredible country, which by the way, is comprised of some 6,000 islands. Rhodes, Kalymnos (where you’ll dock in Myrties, a small village on the other, sleepier side of the island from the island’s main port) and my personal favorite, Nafplio, round out the Greek Isles itinerary.

Arvanitia Beach in Nafplio is a locals-only hidden gem, but outsiders are welcomed with open arms (the true Greek way). (Credit: Breanna Wilson)

Speaking of, the last two islands on that list, Kalymnos and Nafplio, are those types of places that really give you a sense of the local way of life – these aren’t Athens or even Mykonos by any means, these are much smaller, much more authentic, and much cooler in their own way. And while the excursions that Wind Star offers are great, sometimes they can get a tad slow and monotonous (really, how many castles can one person take in?). So places like Kalymnos, which are more slow-paced in nature, are the perfect place to skip the excursions planned for the day and do something adventurous – like rent a scooter (which will only end up costing you about €15 for the day). Head for Emporio Beach and enjoy the wind in your hair (under your helmet, of course), cliffside views, mountain goat gatekeepers and unspoiled views of the surrounding islands. And in Nafplio, head straight across the island (a 10-minute walk) to Arvanitia Beach, a rocky, locals-only kind of hidden cove, which is guaranteed to be one of the coolest beaches you’ll discover in all of Greece. The water is slightly warmer than you’ll find is the case at the other islands, and locals aren’t afraid to head way, way out into the deep – which is your cue to do the same.

Sailings are typically seven days and expect to arrive back to land a little different and a lot more spoiled. It will come as quite a shock when there’s no one to bring you your favorite cocktail with a wave of your hand, no one to spotlessly clean your room and fold your clothes every time you step out of your room, even if it’s just for a few minutes, and no tour guide to meticulously plan out your day. But that’s ok, booking a return trip on a new itinerary can easily remedy that.

As a travel journalist I cover everything from adventure travel to the best in outdoor travel gear. Over the years I’ve found myself sitting on the edge of Victoria Falls in Zambia, racing Rolls-Royces through Dubai, paragliding through Oman, diving in Bora Bora, and climbin...